My friend Sarah recently had a Bridesmaids luncheon. She wanted us to wear hats. I searched & searched for a hat. Stores don’t carry many hats and the few cute ones they have are expensive.
Thank goodness my mom had some hats for me to choose from. She picked up several hats in their original boxes from an estate sale. I found a big white hat to wear that matched my dress. I loaded the other hats up in my car & took them to the luncheon. The girls had asked me to bring hats because none of them had been able to find any either and let’s face it, who wants to spend $50 or more on something you will probably only wear once?
When I got there the girls came out to my car & picked out their hats. Not to brag, but we looked just too cute! Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at us when we walked it – no one wears hats anymore.
I have the picture of the 5 of us with our hats on. It is my favorite picture of us! It started thinking, “Why don’t we wear hats?” They add an element of elegance our society seems to have lost.
I enjoy watching old black & white movies. I notice that even the men wore hats and the ladies wouldn’t leave their house unless they had a hat on.
I don’t want to go back to the days where ladies can’t leave their house unless they have a hat on, but I would like to see them being worn more often. I’m going to start wearing a hat when I go the showers & luncheons. I want to bring hats back!
I had a rare experience a couple of weekends ago.
One of my oldest & dearest friends Sarah got married. She met her husband at my wedding. She & Tate were both in our wedding.
The night before at the rehearsal, her sisters burst into tears when they saw their dad walked the ‘stand in for Sarah’ down the isle. It wasn’t even Sarah that he was walking down. I just knew they were going to loose it at the wedding. I was so happy for Sarah. The emotions going through me were all joyful. The next day while we were getting ready & taking pictures, I was excited & happy. My best friend was marrying my husband’s best friend. How perfect!
There I stood, smiling as I watched Sarah practically float down the isle. She was radiant! As she walked down the isle, flashes of Sarah crying in my dorm room saying, “I’m never going to find anyone! I’m just going to be an old maid!” flashed into my head. And now she was getting married. It was almost more than I could handle. My eyes filled with tears – tears of joy, because Sarah was getting married. I tried to compose myself. I looked back at Sarah walking down the isle. She was waving & smiling at her guest. She was walking to her future - Tate!
It’s the time of year when the aroma of barbeque fills the air in Memphis. That’s right…it’s Barbeque Fest time!
This was my first year to really experience this Memphis Holiday. My company sponsors a barbeque team. I spent Wednesday evening & all day Thursday & Friday on the MS River at our tent. The weather could not have been more perfect! It rained Wednesday, which yielded a cool, breezy rest of the week.
When I say ‘on the MS River’ this was the view from our tent!
People go all out for this festival! Some want the best tent, others want the best ribs, while others are just glad to be there!
I didn’t just eat barbeque, I had a fried Snickers. Simply delicious! It’s like a doughnut filled with Snickers! They will fry just about anything: Oreo's, Twinkies, Coke, you name & they'll fry it!
I had the privilege of eating ribs from the team that won last year! They were fabulous!
Besides eating, my favorite thing to do was people watch. I saw some colorful characters!
Barbeque Fest is such an experience! You must walk on the river front, smell the barbeque, hear the music, see the tents to fully, and of course eat the barbeque to fully experience Barbeque Fest!
Matt & I have decided he is going to quit Dental school & we are going to become Delta Farmers!
I feel like I have just traveled to a time when women wore hooped skirts & corsets & said things like, "fiddle de de!" and men kissed ladies' hands and always took their hats off to greet a lady. Where is this place? The Mississippi Delta.
Matt & I traveled to Hollendale, MS for my friend Sam's Couple's Shower. I was totally unprepared for what we were about to experience in 'the Delta.' I thought 'The Delta' in Mississippi was on the coast. No, the Delta is the most fertile part of the state, which is in the middle of the state.
Matt & I drove on the flattest roads with fields of crops on either side of us. We wondered how we would ever find the house. Then we saw these 8 foot iron stakes holding cups of fire. We felt sure we were on the right track. We turned down the road. We then saw more stakes with cups of fire. It was in front of a beautiful ranch house. We made it!
We were greeted by a true southern bell. No hooped skirt, but I felt like she had just stepped out of the pages of Margret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. We went through the house to the back, where the other guests were mingling. All the ladies had on skirts or dresses, no capris or pants here. All the gentlemen (I feel men isn’t the appropriate in this case), had on khaki or linen pants. The invitation said ‘casual.’ This was not my idea of ‘casual’ for a shower that was outside.
Our eyes perused the crowd and then fixed on this hut. Hut really doesn’t describe what this was, but it is the only word I can think to describe it. It had a real roof (with shingles) but no walls. We made our way through the guests to this hut. This hut had a grill, a bar, a fireplace, a table in the center, & chairs & swings. Matt was in love!:) There was a 3 person guitar group playing country songs in the hut.
After we grabbed a Margarita from the Margarita machine in the hut we headed to the fountain in a garden. We walked on a pathway made of smooth black rocks. We smelled the sweet aroma of the pink flowers that bordered the pathway. Once we reached the fountain there was a strong smell of chlorine. We thought maybe they were just really clean people. We later realized why.
We made our way back to the other guests near the corner of the house. All of a sudden the house started misting. One of the guests posed it was a watering system for the plants. It had an odor to it so it couldn’t be water.
Sam came by & introduced us to the owner of the house. He was a tall, gray haired, tan man wearing a black silk shirt & linen pants. He explained that the mist we saw was bug’s spray. Apparently, the Delta is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Thus, the chlorine in the fountain.
He was dressed so nice & had such a nice house that I assumed he was an attorney, doctor, or something along those lines. I took my friend Sam to the side & asked her what he did. She said he is a farmer. A farmer?? The farmers I know have modest homes & certainly wouldn’t wear linen pants. Sam explained to me what it means to be a farmer in the Delta. It seems that on average these farmers own 7,000 acres. They hire people to help them farm all of their land. Plus, they have huge, technical equipment.
I have never attended a shower where a full meal was served. This shower was at 7:00. I was thinking they would serve the food around 7:30 or 8:00 at the latest. We visited with the other guests who weren’t from the area & who didn’t know any of the other guests. We made several trips to the chip & salsa table before they finally started the buffet line at 9:00. These people were in no hurry. They were all enjoying visiting, munching on chips & salsa, and listening to the guitar trio. I wish I could slow down & not be so obsessed with time.
The buffet line was in the dining room & started with a white linen napkin rolled up & tied with a green sash. No paper plates here. Our food was in glass or silver containers. We got our food with silver serving pieces. This was no casual affair. We made our way back outside to the tables. They were covered in white linen with gerber daisy & candle centerpieces.
The food was absolutely delicious. I made Sam promise she would get the recipe for everything I ate.
As Matt & I left we looked up & noticed how bright the stars were. There were no other houses or buildings around. Just the farmland. It was so peaceful.
Well, Matt isn’t actually going to quit Dental School & become a Delta Farmer, but we won’t forget out experience in “The Delta.”
Hold your horses...this is for Mules only!
Every year my hometown celebrates the mule. Yes, the Mule. The festival includes a Liars Contest, the Mule Queen Beauty Pageant, Mule Pullin', and of course The Parade! You may wonder why Columbia, TN chooses to celebrate the mule. Way back when people used mules instead of tractors to help them farm, Columbia was known for having the strongest mules. People traveled to Columbia just to buy mules. We now know why Columbia's mules were strong than other mules. Columbia has phosphate in the ground that went into the grass that the mules ate. This caused their bones to be stronger. Pretty cool! Living in Columbia, I was embarrassed by my community's celebration. Having matured several years & moving away, I realize that these community celebrations bring the community together & keep its history alive.
I'm now proud to say that I'm from "The Mule Capitol of the World!" How many people can say that?
I have had so much fun reading & looking at pictures on Summer's blog that I have decided to make one for Matt & me. I've never blogged before, so we'll see what happens. Summer is great at blogging! Did I mention she has a Master's in English?
Here goes my first blog...
It's Good Friday & I have to work. It's one of those days where everyone is 'at' work but no one is 'really' working. We are all just pretending to be busy. I look busy right now while I'm working on my blog.:)
What's worse is Matt doesn't have class today. So while I got up early, he stayed in the bed - sleeping. When I left, he woke up long enough to tell 'have a good day!' & kiss me bye. I don't blame him though. He works really hard in Dental School. He deserves a day off to sleep in.
Happy Good Friday!!
Recent Comments
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The V Family said:
There are these two old ladies at church that wear hats almost every Sunday. They look so adorable. I can't... read more
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TheHartFamily said:
I wore a sun dress, but Matt wore jeans. He wore a really nice button up shirt with it, but... read more
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The V Family said:
[this is good]Wow, what an enchanting evening! You were wearing a skirt, right? My luck, I would have taken casual to mean... read more
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The V Family said:
Yeah! I am so happy you joined Vox. I will now check your blog....often :o). Blogging is a hobby of... read more
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